Our shipment arrived in a huge box that contained all the "store" packaging boxes inside for 12 different items. Given the nature of these products, packaging of them for safe delivery is less of a concern than some other coffee and espresso related items, so we'll forgo any comment about shipment worries. If you order a Thermos Nissan product from any vendor for mail delivery, suffice to say you shouldn't have any worries about it being broken in transit, with the possible exception of glass lined products. We had a glass-lined beautiful executive style carafe (model number TH1000-B) that arrived in perfect condition. Almost the entire line of Thermos Nissan products are steel inside and out.

Our wide range of testing products included a series of large capacity vacuum bottles, a 3.4litre pump pot, a series of personal insulated beverage containers, and the Thermos Nissan Insulated Coffee Press. We were also given the very exclusive and expensive Titanium briefcase insulated container, and will be supplied some brand new products - insulated, modular "sleeves" for paper cups as we progress into this detailed review.

Thermos Nissan products have an undeniable appeal for style, design and function junkies. There's a reason why you see so many Nissan products in commercial coffee houses - they usually can stand up to the rigours of heavy usage. Competing lines from Zojirushi and Trudeau and other manufacturers have gained marketshare over the years, but Thermos Nissan leads the pack, and when you see these products in person, you understand why. From the high polished surface of the Glass Vacuum Insulated Carafe, to the innovative lid system in the Leak-Proof Backpack Bottle, to the appeal of the Ti Briefcase Bottle, to the coated, fingerprint resistant TGS series stainless steel carafes, Thermos Nissan has a product lineup that is very complete.

Testing Evaluation Process

For the forthcoming CoffeeGeek Detailed Review for the Thermos Nissan product line, we've had to develop a new and unique testing methodology to fit these products and to give our readers the kind of review they want to see. Our evaluation will cover the following areas:

Temperature Testing every Thermos Nissan product we have will be given a two complete temperature tests for hot liquids, and one temperature test for cold liquids. We plan on plowing through a lot of milk and coffee for these tests, because the density levels of these liquids differ greatly from plain old water. In fact, our calculations are that we will have to go through about 8 gallons of milk and approximately 7.5 pounds of coffee to properly do the temperature evaluations.

Durability Testing because we plan to give away some of these products through the CoffeeGeek website down the road, we can't do extreme durability testing on all the products we were submitted, but we will be torturing at least two or three of them. Tentative plans include driving over an insulated beverage container with a 3,500 lb vehicle, dropping a beverage container and large volume thermos from about 25 feet high (with video!), and throwing, a la baseball style, one or two products against a brick wall. We may even take an aluminum bat to one of them, and see who comes out the victor. We're mean folks.

Usability Testing over the course of our evaluation, we plan on getting dozens of people using these products, and requesting their notes on usability of the products. This includes intuitive design features, ease of use, ergonomics, and anything else we can think of. We will also be conducting our own usability tests, including mention of ease of use for left or right handed people.

Product Appeal and Design Characteristics along with usability, we will be polling a few dozen people on their thoughts as to the design, materials, and desirability of the Thermos Nissan lineup.

Functionality where possible, we will be testing the unique functionality of various products, including special looks at the various enclosure systems, how the Insulated Press Pot functions, and the ability of the giant Pump Pot supplied to us. We will also post a short evaluation of the supplied manual pour over filter set Thermos Canada supplied to us, and which products it is best suited for.

We have a few other tricks up our sleeves as for testing these products, and we hope to provide a serious evaluation of how they work in every day life, and no-so-every day usage. The driving over them part is going to be especially fun.

First Look Wrapup

Our evaluation has already begun (though we haven't driven over anything yet) and two Thermos Nissan products have already traveled about 2,800 miles with us, getting a bit of a road test. So far, colour us impressed with the Thermos Nissan lineup.

Because our evaluation and testing process is quite different for this line of products, when compared to our more established testing procedures for espresso machines or grinders and the like, it is also much more fluid and open. As such, CoffeeGeek invites you, our readers to submit ideas or suggestions on how you would like to see these products tested. If you have an idea that isn't covered in the Test Evaluation Process outlined above, send it to info@coffeegeek.com with the subject title "Thermos Nissan Test Idea", and we'll incorporate the best, most unique, or most intriguing ideas.

CoffeeGeek would to thank The Thermos Company and Canadian Thermos Products for their participation, patience and help in getting this unique First Look and eventual Detailed Review to our readers.